News from the Leader of the LGA Labour Group

There has been
a phenomenal response to the new ‘Breaking
Point’ campaign we
launched last Friday – over Labour 1,000 councillors signed our petition in the
first 48 hours!

The Tories have
pushed our councils to Breaking Point - and we need every Labour councillor to
join together to say that enough is enough. We’re demanding that the Prime
Minister and Chancellor truly end austerity in local government by:

- Using the
Budget to reverse next years planned £1.3bn cut to council budgets;

- Immediately
investing £2bn in children’s services and £2bn in adult social care to stop
these vital emergency services from collapsing;

- Pledging to
use the Spending Review to restore council funding to 2010 levels over the next
four years

We will be presenting
the Breaking Point petition to Downing Street on 18th October, ahead of the
Budget on 29th October, and including
your name will demonstrate to your local members, residents, and communities that
you are demanding a real end to austerity in local government.

Save the date - Labour Local Government Conference 2019

Please save the date of next year’s Labour Local
Government Conference 2019 in your diary! It will take place at The Slate,
Warwick University. The details are:

Friday 8 February 2019, 19.30 – 22.30hrs

Drinks reception and dinner

Labour Local Government ConferenceSaturday 9 February 2019, 09.30 – 17.00hrsRun jointly by the Association of Labour Councillors
(ALC) and the LGA Labour Group, the event is an opportunity for the Labour
local government family to meet and hear from keynote speakers, and to debate
policies, discuss campaigning ideas, and attend training relevant to Labour
councillors. We will be advertising
details of how to book your place soon including how to book accommodation, but
for now please save the date.

LGA Fire Commission - vacancies for Labour members of Fire and Rescue Authorities

Three vacancies
for balancing members on the LGA Fire Commission have arisen for Labour
members, so we are asking councillors who are members of Fire Authorities to
self-nominate themselves if they wish to become members.

The Fire
Commission provides a forum to discuss matters of common interest and concern
to fire authorities. Combined fire and rescue authorities and principal
authorities with a fire and rescue service each nominate a member to represent
them, and additional members from fire authorities are appointed by the
political groups to ensure political balance.

These
roles will require attendances at meetings in London and in other parts of the
country. Travel and subsistence costs incurred in attending
Committee/Commission meetings are met by the member’s home authority. If you
currently sit on a Fire Authority and are interested in nominating yourself
please email lewis.addlington-lee@local.gov.uk

"Winning England: How can Labour reach voters in Yorkshire?"

All Labour
supporters are welcome to attend this event, run by the English Labour Network.
Sat 20 Oct, 10am at Civic Hall (East Room), Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 1UR

Join shadow
cabinet minister Jon Trickett MP, Rachel Reeves MP, Leeds Council Leader Judith
Blake and the English Labour Network's John Denham to discuss how Labour can do
more to reach voters in Yorkshire, particularly working class voters and those
beyond the major cities. RSVP here.

LGA events - free to attend

The LGA is
running a free event (for member councils) looking at how councils can improve
insight around migration and change in communities. Trevor Phillips (broadcaster
and commentator) and Richard Webber (originator of Mosaic and Acorn) have
produced a powerful tool to help map communities in real time, which could be
vital for community cohesion work, and which has already been applied with
several local authorities. Hear the
story of how it can help you and participate in the key debate on cohesion and
integration.

You are
invited to a free event hosted by the LGA. Delegates will hear the high level
findings of the LGA Cyber Security Stocktake; a snapshot study of the cyber
security arrangements in place across all councils in England, providing an
understanding of the strengths and weaknesses across the sector.

Delegates
will also hear from the LGA about how to use their own council’s stocktake
assessment to bid for funding to improve their organisation’s cyber resilience.
You will also hear from key partners – including the National Cyber Security
Centre, the police and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local
Government – about the free resources they also have available to support
councils. Council delegates should go away armed with a range of steps they can
take to improve their cyber resilience.